Growing Pains
by RavageDarkness
Summary: A lot of people say that it is hard to be a superhero. However, as Cephas Parker figures out, surviving the growing pains is even harder.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, I'm Cephas Parker.

I'm a lot of things. I'm a photographer. I'ma lab assistant. And, I'm also superhero.

Yes, you heard that right. I'm a superhero. And at the moment, I'm rolled up in a cocoon of webbing, stuck on a web like a fly, which is rather ironic, now that I think about it…

Wait, you're still stuck on the superhero part, aren't you? I should have figured. I guess you want me to tell you my whole origin story, huh?

…Oh, you _do _want to know my origin story.

Okay, fine. I'll tell you my origin story.

It all started with one bad week in high school.

Well, actually, let's start a week before then. Since you want to know my origin story, I guess you want to know what makes me tick, right?

Right now, picture an American Literature class. Now picture all the usual people you'd find in the class. The jocks, the cheerleaders, the nerds… I didn't belong to any of those groups. I was that one kid that no one really knew much about because I tended to keep to myself. At that moment, I was looking up at the clock, thinking that the second hand couldn't have moved any slower. There was literally two minutes left in class, and all I could think of was what I was going to do with my group after school. As I stared at the clock, I half-listened to the teacher remind us of an essay that was due at the end of the week. I wasn't too worried about it since I already did it and just had to proofread it.

I glanced over at my friend Harry, who tapped his pencil against the cover of his composition book impatiently. After what seemed like an eternity, the bell mercifully sounded throughout the school, prompting me to grab my book bag and stand up. I took walked towards the door and exited, shouldering the backpack in the process. As everyone flooded out of the room, I waited for Harry to make his exit. Once he entered the hall, we made our way towards the door that lead to the courtyard.

"So, Homecoming's coming up," Harry mentioned. I shrugged my shoulders. I made an audible as I neared a bathroom door. I stepped inside of it, with Harry right behind me. "It's three weeks away."

"What of it?" I asked. I stepped in front of the urinals and began the process of relieving myself. I didn't even have to turn my head to know that Harry was shaking his head at me.

"Cephas Parker…" he began.

"Yes, Mr. Osborn."

"What year is this for you?"

"My junior year."

"Exactly," he said after I zipped up and moved towards one of the sinks. "For two years, you go to this school, do school work and…. That's it. Would it kill you to do something fun?"

"I hang out with you and the others at least once a week. Isn't that fun?"

I looked up at the mirror as I pressed the heel of my palm against the closest soap dispenser. Staring back at me was a somewhat tall guy with dark skin, dark eyes, and short hair. I'm not an ugly person. Not by my standards anyway. But I didn't think I was the type of guy that has girls falling out of the sky for me with my looks. Truth be told, I felt that if I was in a high school drama, I'd be portrayed by an extra that happens to be a random black guy off of the street that may or may not appear in a shot. You see, I was the guy no one notices. No girls gawked at me and bullies never took my lunch money. It was a nice balance, in a way.

Harry, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of me. The brunette was a lot more outgoing than I was. I liked to keep to myself, he loved going out and doing social activities. And while I did have a decent allowance, his dad, Norman, was loaded, with him being the CEO and head scientist of Oscorp and all. So, he can afford to do what he wants, whenever he wanted. He was one of the most popular kids in school. So, needless to say, he was more amped up for Homecoming than I was.

"Ceph'," he began as I washed my hands. "Would it kill you to go to the dance? You barely go to football games, or any sporting events for that matter. You don't even go to other social events. Why not just go to this one dance?"

I turned off the faucet before reaching for a paper towel.

"It's just not my thing," I said replied as I dried my hands. "Unless I'm hanging out and doing something that just involves you and the crew, I prefer to stay at home. You know that." I turned away from the sink and made my way out of the restroom with Harry in tow.

"We _all_ know that," Harry said. "Thing is, we often hang out at these events, and the _first_ thing that comes to our minds are 'Man… wish Ceph' was here'." I pressed my lips together as we walked out of the building. I narrowed my eyes as the Florida sun beamed down on us.

"Yeah, I'm sure you were thinking about me when you were grinding up on that girl while LMFAO was playing in the background." I looked over at Harry, who looked at me with a look of slight surprise. I scoffed before looking forward. "Facebook."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Harry shaking his head as we headed towards the east side of campus.

"Well…" Harry continued. "Most of us are looking for dates. And 'most of us' includes…" A part of me was getting frustrated. I couldn't help but get the feeling that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. And whenever he got like this, he usually had a trump card drawn to finally make me relent. One time it was a DVD of Wrestlemania 2000. Another time, it was a guaranteed job at a restaurant (that folded two months later). And this time, it was…

"…Gwen Stacy."

I stopped in my tracks.

"Why'd you have to mention Gwen?" I said as I turned to him, letting my frustration show.

"Because I know that's the only way I can get you to Homecoming."

"…Ugh… Whatever," I said. "Where are we going anyway?"

"The usual place," he said as we approached the parking lot.

About ten minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of Wendy's. I stepped out of Harry's Honda S2000. I looked down at the silver roadster before looking over at Harry as he stepped out of it. We then made our way inside. As we made a beeline towards the counter, we waved to three people who was seated at a section of the restaurant. While Harry grabbed a double cheeseburger with a Coke and fries, I opted for a Vanilla Frosty Shake, not really in the mood to eat a whole meal at the moment. Once we got our orders, we made our way towards the tables that our aforementioned friends were sitting at.

As I took my seat, I exchanged handshakes with Carl, Gwen, and Jessica.

Sitting across from me was Carl Lucas, the biggest guy in our group, standing at six and a half feet and weighing about 270 pounds. He was the star defensive end on our school's football team and the only senior in my circle. Because of how good he is on the field, he can practically go to any college he wanted to. Not that he wasn't a smart guy or anything; on the contrary, he had quite a bit of brains to go with his muscles. Plus, he seemed to have the uncanny ability to utilize common sense whenever necessary, making him the voice of reason of our group. Unlike Gwen and Harry, I didn't know Carl until my second year of high school when we shared a class. I jokingly pointed out to him that we were the only black guys in class, which got a laugh from him. After a couple of weeks, I invited him to hang out with us. And the rest was history.

Sitting next to him was his girlfriend Jessica Jones. Just like Carl, I met Jessica when I attended this high school. Heck, we didn't even talk much prior to her going out with Carl. However, after a while, we got to know each other, if only because Carl and I hung out with Harry and I. I later figured out she was a little shy, and even now, it was easy to get in a one-sided conversation. But that was one of her best traits: She was a great listener. She was also the morality pet of the group. While she normally went with the flow of things, when she voiced a differing opinion, we all stop and reconsider the situation. And more often than not, she's right.

Now, sitting next to me was Gwen Stacy. Harry, Gwen, and I grew up together, with her living the closest to me out of my friends. She shared my love for science and fiction, though she was more interested in literature while I had a thing for pro wrestling and comic books. And, as you probably guessed, I have a thing for her. Other than Harry, she was my closest friend. We talked a lot about many things, and she was my foil in quite a few areas. For example, she often spoke her mind whenever she found something stupid while I merely kept my sarcastic thoughts in my head. While I was usually reserved around people who I just met, she was more outgoing and welcoming. Plus, she was the only person other than Harry who knew everything about me.

I flashed a smile at Gwen as she tucked a stray golden strand of hair behind her left ear.

"Great to have most of us here," Carl said, narrowing his eyes. He was referring to the sixth person of our group. You'll hear about her soon.

"She'll be back on Monday," I said as I took a sip of my shake. "So, what's on the agenda today?"

"Homecoming," Gwen said with a smile. "This is my first time going."

"I heard you were looking for a date," Harry said. I turned towards him and gave him a look. I knew what he was trying to do. He wanted to force me to go to the dance. And he knew if she asked, I wouldn't say no.

"Yeah, I am," Gwen said. "It's not something I want to go to by myself. I even bought two tickets." I suppressed a cringe as I began to take another sip of my shake through the straw.

"Hey, Ceph', aren't you looking for someone?" Carl chimed in. Coincidently, some of the shake went down the wrong tube, causing me to cough. After short coughing fit, I then looked at Carl, eyebrow raised. I then turned my head towards Gwen, who looked at me in surprise.

"You are?" she said. I wanted to put an end to it, but before I could I say anything, Carl continued.

"Yeah, he said he wanted to go to Homecoming with someone he knew, someone he could trust. So, I figured… You both are looking for someone, and you two trust each other…"

"It would be a good idea," Jessica said with a small smile.

_Ain't this some crap! _I just got ganged up on by own friends. I looked over at Gwen, who had a subtle look of anticipation. So, way I saw it, I only had two options. I could either tell Gwen the truth and disappoint her, and have her end up with some guy who I didn't even know. Or, I could just go along with this sham, and end up going out with her. And considering that there couldn't be a better girl to be forced on a date with…

"Well… Gwen, what do you say?"

She chuckled as she looked down at her burger. She then nodded.

"Yes, Pete, I'll be your date for the dance." She then stood up from her seat. "I'll be back." I watched her as she made her way to the bathroom. As soon as she was out of sight, I turned my head towards my other friends, scowling at them.

"Y'all planned this from the start, didn't you?" I demanded.

"We're only trying to help you, Ceph'," Harry said, putting an arm around my shoulders. "It's obvious you like her. We're just doing you a favor."

"I can't believe this," I said. "I just got pimped."

"Look at it this way, Cephas," Jessica said. "While at Homecoming, you can take the time to actually tell her how you feel."

"Like I got a choice," I muttered. "Still screwed up how you planned it. But worst of all, I don't even have time to prepare."

"No worries," Harry said. "You, Carl, and I can swing by one of the malls this Saturday and begin shopping. There should still be plenty of stuff to buy."

"For Gwen," I whispered. "I'm doing this for Gwen."

Carl laughed as Gwen eventually returned, and we talked about the usual stuff: Teachers we hated, the absurdity of assignments, and what he had planned for the week.

Eventually, Harry dropped me off at home in Lauderhill. After waving to him, I turned around and pulled out my keys. I after finding the right key, I unlocked the front door and walked in. As I closed the door behind me, I heard the faint sound of music playing from upstairs. I looked up at the ceiling for a moment before walking over to the kitchen. The light was on, and taped to the fridge door was a folded piece of paper with my named scribbled on it in black ink. I grabbed it and opened it up. A twenty dollar bill dropped out of it, and I was barely able to catch it before it landed on the ground. I then looked down at the paper and saw that a note was written on it.

"'Cephas'," I muttered to myself. "'We decided to catch a movie tonight. Order a pizza for you and Anya'." The name Uncle Ben was written after those words.

I guess this is the part where I explain my family situation.

You see, until I was eight years old, I lived with my parents, Richard and Mary Parker. However, during that period, I spent quite a bit of time with my uncle Ben and my aunt May. This was mostly because my folks were away half the time due to government work. They never told me what that work entailed, and I still didn't know, but I knew that it often took them around the world, as evidenced by the many souvenirs they brought back. So, I imagined that they were secret agents, like American 007's.

Unfortunately, when I was eight, my uncle had to break the news that my folks died in a plane crash. My uncle and aunt took me in, and when I moved in, I had Anya Corazon waiting for me.

Anya was that last person of my circle I mentioned earlier. When I moved in with my uncle and aunt, we immediately clashed. We didn't really know each other that well yet, so she thought I was a brooding killjoy while I thought she was an annoying half-pint. However, as we eventually got to know each other and grew close. Unlike me, she doesn't even know if her parents are even alive or dead; she never knew them. She was raised in an orphanage until she was taken in.

Thinking about her all of the sudden, I left the kitchen before making my way upstairs. As I did, the music I heard became louder and louder. I reached the second floor and walked towards the source of the sound. I stopped in front of a door before placing my hand on the knob and twisting it. As I pushed the door open, I saw Anya sitting on her bed, head bowed as she was engrossed in a book that opened in her hands, her feet tapping the comforter to the rhythm of an instrumental I couldn't quite recognize at the moment. I looked over to my left to see a small table. And top of it was a light brown teddy bear. I reached for it and grabbed it before I threw it at Anya. As I expected, the small toy hit Anya on the head, causing her to look up in surprise. When she saw who it was, she tilted her head while pressing her lips together, slightly annoyed. She stood up and walked over to her radio. She pressed the power button on the radio, causing the music to stop, before turning towards me. She then cocked an eyebrow.

"Really?" she said.

"Yup," I said with a smile on my face. "Hey, our folks left some cash for a pizza. Want the usual?"

"Yeah," she said. I nodded.

"Meet me down stairs. We'll watch a movie or something."

"I'd like that," she said. I nodded at her before I made my way downstairs.

About a half hour later, the two of us was watching Equilibrium on our folks' couch. Or, at least we tried to. As great as the movie was, we've seen it quite a few times. We spent most of the time talking about what happened to me after school. In front of us were two opened boxes of pizza and two half full two-liter bottles of soda with two glasses, all on the coffee table.

"And I was set up, just like that," I said before finishing off my slice of pizza.

"So you're finally going to Homecoming," Anya mused after swallowing a piece out of her slice. "And with Gwen to boot. Who'da thunketh?"

"What are you trying to say?" I said as I leaned back on the couch.

"Ceph', everybody knows you like her," Anya said, turning her head towards me. "And she likes you too."

"What makes you think so?" I said, raising my eyebrow at her.

"Well, let's see," Anya pressed her tongue against her cheek. "You're the only person she gives a nickname to. She hangs on to your every word and laughs at your pathetic excuse for jokes. Oh, she also slept in your bed while you were in it quite a few times…" I tilted my head at that last part

"How did you know about that?" As I asked this, I bent forward as I grabbed my cup. I then leaned back against the seat and took a sip.

"Facebook."

I immediately did a spit take before turning towards Anya, my eyes as wide as saucers. Anya looked straight back at me with a straight face. I felt myself starting to panic. That panic subsided quickly when Anya began to snicker before laughing out loud. I kept on looking at her until for a few moments. I then narrowed my eyes as I realized that she was just screwing with me.

"Oh that's funny?" I said before pouncing on her. She yelped in surprise as she was on her side. I immediately straddled her before I brushed my fingers against her side, tickling her. She started laughing uncontrollably, yelling to get me to stop. After about a minute, I relented, removing myself from on top of her. She then rolled onto her back, breathing heavily before frowning at me.

"Big meany!" she said in mock anger.

"You mad?" I said with a smirk on my face. My smile faded away as I gave her a solemn look. "Do you really think I should pursue Gwen?"

"It's not really pursuing when she's waiting for you to find her." She then propped herself on her elbows before smiling slightly. "But yes, I do."

I nodded before looking off to the side, raising my eyebrows in thought.

I really did like Gwen. But even despite everything Anya told me, I still wasn't sure that Gwen liked me romantically so much as she trusts me a lot. I heard stories of guys and girls going so far as to have sex with each other on a regular basis without any type of romantic relationship between them. Granted, Gwen wasn't like that. Not by a long shot. Still though, I wasn't so quick to take her sharing a bed with me quite a few times as a sign.

But, what if she did like me?

I shook my head before looking back at Anya.

"You know, you still haven't told me why you were suspended," I said, intent on changing the subject for the time being. Anya rolled her eyes as her eyebrows squeezed together in annoyance.

"I told you already," she said as she looked back at me. "I kicked a guy in the nuts."

"That really clears it up," I deadpanned.

"I had a very good reason, Cephas. But it's a reason you do not want to know. Trust me."

I kept my eyes on her for a few moments. I then sighed in defeat.

"Just, don't do it again," I said as I reached over for another slice of pizza.

"Yes dad."

I rolled my eyes as she sat up again. We remained quiet for the rest of the film, watching Christian Bale using Gun Kata to mow down several mooks. Once the movie was done, we cleaned up and put the rest of the food and drinks in the fridge. As I closed the fridge, I looked over at the digital clock that was positioned above the stove top.

"Nine thirty," I said to myself. I then turned towards Anya, who was looking back at me with a frown. She knew what I was going to say next. "Let's get you to bed. You're already in hot water as is after the suspension."

"I was afraid of that," she muttered as I turned and walked to her room with her in tow. As we reached the stairs and began to ascend, I looked over my shoulder.

"Everyone misses you," I said before looking forward to make sure I didn't miss a step.

"Goodness, it's only been three days," she said with a scoff. "Could you all not survive that long without me?"

"What can I say, you're our G.E.C.K."

"Glad that I'm the only reason you haven't turned into a ghoul. Or, better yet, some kind of spider-freak."

I want you to remember that statement. It's going to be hilarious in the future.

When we reached the top of the stairs, I turned around and looked at Anya. She stepped forward before wrapping her arms around my abdomen. She placed the side of her face against my chest, prompting me to rest my chin on top of my head as I embraced her. She then moved back and looked up at me.

"Waste this opportunity with Gwen, and I'll kill you," she said, putting on her best threatening face. I fought to keep a straight face as I felt myself corpse. She playfully punched me in the stomach, causing me to let out a surprised _oof_. "Seriously, I will kill you."

"I know," I said.

We then parted after bidding each other goodnight.

The whole Gwen thing was on my mind the next day. So much so that, even to this day, I don't quite remember what happened during my first two classes. Heck, I wasn't even sure if I even ate breakfast that day. What I did remember was sitting in a secluded part of the campus with Gwen during lunch. During that time, we were talking about some books. Specifically, the Twilight series.

"You have to admit, Edward was acting rather romantic," she said. I rolled my eyes as I set down my Mexican pizza.

"All I'm saying is that if I did half of the stuff Edward did in the first book, I'd either get backhanded or arrested," I replied. "I'm just saying."

"Well, you never minded whenever _I_ snuck in your room." She gave me a mischievous look as I gave her a wry smile.

"Yeah, well…" I then bowed my head in defeat. "Okay, you got me." She laughed out loud as she brought her arm around my shoulders.

"So you like being my Bella, huh?" she said in jest.

"I like to think I'm better than that," I said. I then turned my head towards her. "I am capable of more than one expression, after all." She scoffed.

"Okay, fine. What about Edward?"

"We talked about this Gwen. No body glitter." She playfully pouted at me.

"Come on! I bought the one boy bands wear." At that I just laughed as I set my tray off to the side, picking up my carton of milk after I did so.

"Is that what you want me to wear for Homecoming?" I said sarcastically, raising my eyebrows. My eyebrows then dropped down as she looked down for a bit. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head as she looked up at me. "Nothing's wrong." Before I could even ask if she was sure, I was pulled into an embrace. This caught me off guard, but I went with it, putting my arms around her. "Pete… thanks for asking me out for Homecoming."

"I should be thanking you," I replied. "You could have gone out with anyone."

"And miss out on the going with the greatest guy on campus?" I knew she was laying it pretty thick, but I wasn't going to stop her. She then pulled away before smiling at me. "In all honesty, I can't think of anyone else to go out with. Someone has to make me look good on the dance floor." I rolled my eyes upwards. She couldn't resist. I then looked back at her. She smiled back at me. "Seriously, you're the only person I wanted to go with." I smiled back at her. My smile then faded as I looked away. "What's wrong, Pete?"

"Nothing," I said as I turned my head towards Gwen. Of course, it wasn't "nothing". I was thinking about whether or not to tell her how I felt. After a moment, I opened my mouth, deciding to grab every bit of bravery I could conjure up to try and say something… anything. However, I didn't really get a chance to say anything when the bell rang with timing only found in a romance novel.

Lovely.

I let out a breath as I grabbed my tray, rolling my eyes.

"Is it time for class already?" Gwen said. I looked back at her and raised my eyebrows briefly as I shrugged. Inside, I was a little miffed. I stood up, wondering to myself if I just squandered an opportunity or if it happened for a reason. Maybe I did lose my one, and possibly, only opportunity. Or maybe it just wasn't the right time. Maybe there was no chance at all and that bell just saved me from one awkward week.

"Hey Pete?"

I turned my head towards Gwen. Now it was her looking off to the side, and I knew the gears were turning in her brain. I could practically see them. She then looked back at me.

"Um… I want to talk you about something… at Homecoming." I tilted my head as I started to feel worried.

"Is it something bad?" I asked.

"It depends on how it goes." She then smiled that smile that always made me at least smirk, as I was doing at that moment. "I'm hoping it will be something great Pete… for the both of us."

…_What?_

Within moments, my head was swirling with thoughts as different parts of my mind argued over what it meant. I opened my mouth to try to inquire more, but she closed the gap between us and placed her hands on my upper arms.

"Pete, you need to get to class. Don't dwell too much on it, okay?"

"Easier said than done," I said. I then smiled slightly. "I'll try."

"I'll take that. Now go to class." I nodded as I turned away, tray in my head. "Oh, and leave your window unlocked tonight."

Now I know what you're thinking.

_Okay, what's so bad about your life? Don't get me wrong, it sucks that your parents died while you were young and all, but, you seem well adjusted and you're about to get a girl in your life and have a great Homecoming. What's so bad about that?_

Well, you see, things don't come that easily for me.

You know when you play some type of action adventure game, and enter this one room that has loads and loads of goodies to pick up, only to walk into the next room and quickly realized that those goodies are going to come in real handy? Well, that's how things are for me, except those goodies get taken away right before the bad stuff happens.

And this was no exception.

Let's fast forward to Saturday, also known as the beginning of what was going to be a crappy week.

I woke up to the scents of bacon and pancakes. The scents were telling me that breakfast was ready. Smiling to myself, I sat up from the bed before stretching. I then looked down to see that I slept in a black tank top with matching pajama bottoms. Deeming myself decent, I stood up before making my way out of my bedroom and to the bathroom. After a quick brushing of the teeth and emptying of the bladder, I made my way downstairs before moving into the dining room. Once I reached there, I saw that Anya was already eating along with my aunt and uncle.

I guess this is the part where I have to introduce the latter two.

First, there was my Uncle Ben. He was a rather firm guy. He did his best to make sure that Anya and I was on the straight and narrow. He was the last person we wanted to talk to whenever we screwed up.

Case and point, Anya, who received a whooping of a lifetime when she was suspended.

So, out of him and Aunt May, he was usually the bad cop. Still, he was a fair guy and an easy enough person to talk to, and it was a lot easier for me to open up to him than to Aunt May, if only because of guy stuff. He was also very understanding, giving you the chance to tell your whole side before deciding how to react.

Then there was Aunt May. She was akin to the sweet old grandma that bakes cookies every time you roll around. While my uncle was the person making sure that Anya and I did the right thing and wasn't getting into trouble, my aunt was the person to make sure that we were happy. She'd often ask us how our day was and would do anything to make us smile whenever any of us were in crappy mood. While she seemed rather meek, I couldn't help but feel a certain type of strength underneath the surface.

"Cephas," my uncle said, turning his head towards me with a slight smile. "Glad you can join us. Better come on down before little Hoover here eats the rest of the food." Anya shot her uncle a glare, prompting me to chuckle.

"Seriously, sit," my aunt said as she stood up and picked up a fork. She used the fork to put some pancakes and bacon on the plate in front of the one empty seat. "Wouldn't want you to be hungry before you head out." I smiled before I walked over to the empty seat. I took the seat and grabbed a fork before I started working on the flapjacks.

"Heading out?" my uncle mused as I popped a piece of pancake in my mouth. "What's on the agenda today?" I took a few moments to chew and swallow before I answered.

"Harry is going to pick me up around eleven," I said. "We're going meet Carl at Sawgrass so we can shop for Homecoming." This caused my uncle chuckle.

"I never thought you'd be the one for Homecoming," my uncle said. "What changed?"

"My friends suckered me into it," I said. My uncle actually laughed at that part.

"Well, it's a great experience. I still remember my first Homecoming." He then looked at Aunt May. "It was because of Homecoming that I met your aunt." My aunt smiled back at him. My uncle then looked back at me. "So, are you taking anyone?"

"He's taking Gwen," Anya said with a smile. I gave her a sideways glare before looking back at my uncle and nodding. I then saw him look at my aunt, and the two of them shared a look.

"What was that?" I demanded.

"Nothing…" my uncle said, looking back at me. He then smiled. "You and Gwen knew each other for a long time, didn't you?"

"Yeah," I said as I stabbed a piece of bacon with my fork. "I knew her even before I moved here. So, I figured that if I was" My uncle nodded a few times.

"Well, I hope you two have a good time," Aunt May added. "And treat her right. It's not often you find a girl so sweet."

Translation: You have a golden opportunity. Don't screw it up.

I looked back at Anya, who mouthed an "I told you so" before she returned to eating her food.

After breakfast, I went back upstairs and got ready. After deciding to go with a pair of blue jeans, white sneakers, and a black t-shirt, I went down to the den and passed the time by watching some television. Right when I turned on the TV, I glanced at the clock that sat on top of it, seeing that it read 9:45. As I watched the television set, I glanced back at the clock every now and again, seeing the time change. As the clock read 10:53, I expected a call or text from Harry, letting me know that he was outside. However, 10:53 turned into noon, and noon turned into one. By the time my cell vibrated repeatedly, signifying a call, it was about two o'clock in the afternoon. I pulled out my phone and looked at the screen, seeing Harry's name on it. I let out an annoyed sigh before pressing the accept call button. I put the phone to my ear.

"You better have a good reason for being so late," I said darkly. I expected Harry to tell me to calm down or sarcastically tell me how much I was scaring him at the moment.

"…Yeah…" Harry said in a somewhat vexed tone. "The plan has changed. I'm going to scoop you up around six. And see if your folks can let Anya come with us as well." I raised an eyebrow as my face contorted into a look of confusion.

"So we're _not_ shopping for Homecoming?"

"Ceph', we're not even _going_ to Homecoming." At that moment, I wished I existed in a cartoon universe so I could punch Harry through the phone.

"Harry…" I took in a deep breath to keep myself from going off on him. "Someone better been arrested."

"…That's exactly what happened. Carl is in custody right now."

"…Crap…"


	2. Chapter 2

Here I was, sitting in the den of the Osborns' home. It was a pretty lavish place. It had eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms, with the last one being a part of the master bedroom. Along with that, it had a den that doubled as a recreation area (complete with the latest gaming systems hooked up to a seventy inch plasma screen television, a pool table, and even a fireplace… despite the fact that the mansion itself was in South Florida), a swimming pool in the back, multiple balconies… anything you can think of, there was a 50/50 chance this house had it. The inside of the house was decorated with a lot of trinkets and items from around the world.

I stated before that Harry's dad, Norman, was the head of OsCorp. OsCorp is an engineering and pharmaceutical firm. They specialized in military technology and alternative supplements. It was because of the former that they were one of the more profitable companies in the world. Needless to say, Norman was very rich, and he made sure the home was fit for guests. As such, we were there often, just to hang out or play video games… usually.

This wasn't one of those times.

The whole group was there, sans Carl. I was sitting on the sofa with my body leaned forward, elbows on my knees and hands laced together as I stared intently at Harry. To my right was Gwen, who had her right arm around the shoulders of Jessica, who was currently trying to hold back the tears to no avail. And then there was Anya, seated cross legged on the floor to my left. Across from us, on the recliner was Harry. He just got done explaining to us what really happened. Needless to say, we were all at a loss for words.

"So… let me get this straight," Anya began, prompting me to look down at her. Her head was tilted from apparent disbelief. "Someone gave an anonymous tip that Carl was going to be at Sawgrass to orchestrate some kind of illegal deal. So cops showed up, questioned him, and asked if they could search his vehicle. He complies, and they found two bricks of coke in his trunk."

"Yeah, that's basically it," Harry said with a sigh.

"That can't be right," I said. "Carl would rather die than have anything to do with the stuff, not after what happened his freshman year."

Long story short, Carl's girlfriend at the time died from a drug overdose. So you can imagine why we didn't believe the story.

"I don't believe it either, Ceph'," Harry said. "Matter of fact, I know he got screwed over somehow. But the powder they found in his trunk says otherwise."

"How much is the bail?" Gwen asked.

"Bond hearing hasn't been set yet. Though, it might be next Thursday."

"Oh lovely," Anya said. "So what's the plan?"

"Only plan I have is to talk to my dad and see if he'll have his attorney defend Carl," Harry answered. "Right now, I'm more worried about the bail. Any chance of him getting to any school on a football scholarship will probably go out the window once word gets around about his arrest. But if we can bail him out, he can still finish the semester without missing too many days. That way, he can still pick some others way to pay for school."

"You say this as if your father's lawyer is guaranteed to win Carl's case," Jessica said in a somewhat choked voice.

"If Jennifer can win the Oprah versus OsCorp case, she can take care of Carl."

Don't bother asking.

"So, no homecoming, and Carl gets arrested," I said with a sigh. "Well, I don't know how this week could get any worse."

Have you ever wanted to go back in time just to slap the taste out of your past self's mouth for saying or doing something so stupid? Yeah, this was one of those times. That bad week I told you about? This was the start of it.

The following Monday started off rather uneventfully. That was, until lunch time. Because of my schedule, my lunch was right before fourth period. Instead of grabbing the French bread pizza, like I usually do, I decided to opt for the fish sandwich. Ten minutes later it was announced over the PA system that the fish sandwiches were tainted. Not that it mattered much, because during that announcement, I was on the toilet as my body emptied my bowels like a bad case of imminent domain. By the time I was able to go to class, I missed a pop quiz that would have earned extra points for an upcoming test. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I preferred to be ahead of the curve when final exams rolled around.

Tuesday, Anya and I missed the school bus, so our folks dropped us off at the nearest transit stop to catch the city bus. Problem was, the nearest stop that would take us towards our destination had no form of cover, and five minutes afterwards, the sky opened up and said good morning by serving us a healthy serving of heavy rain.

To add to that, word of Carl's arrest got around real fast. It seemed like every corner I turned, there was somebody talking about it. Some people thought he was framed. Other people claimed that they knew that Carl doing something with cocaine, like he was dealer, and just started demonizing him. It gotten so bad that rumors of Jessica being a crack whore started going around by Wednesday. At that point, I literally walked out of the classroom, ignoring my teacher when she asked me what was wrong. It was all I could do to avoid hopping the aisle and getting into that girl's face to tell her to shut up.

I merely walked away. It helped me avoid doing something stupid. Which was rather ironic, because me walking away _lead_ into doing something stupid.

Before I continue, I have to tell you guys something: Carl was the anti-bully of the school. Ever since his freshman year, bullying was a scarce thing because since Carl was so popular, had a thing against bullying, and is so scary of a dude to get into a fight with, the mere words "I know Carl" was enough to make anyone think twice. He was basically the Sword of Damocles. However, Carl wasn't around anymore. So, some of the bullies started to come out again.

So, I was walking around, near the cafeteria. First lunch was in session, so people were out and about. I was just going to just turn around when I heard a familiar voice.

"Get away from me, Flash!"

I stopped in my tracks and scanned the area. It took me a while, but a few people turning their heads in the same direction lead my gaze to the source of the voice. It belonged to who I thought it belonged to: Anya. And she was standing to face to face with Flash Thompson, starting quarterback of the school's football team and all around douche. He was the guy who got kicked in the nuts by Anya, resulting in her suspension. I started to walk towards them, quickening my pace as I noticed that he had her grabbed by the elbow.

"What are you going to do, call Carl?" he said tauntingly. He then yanked her closer, causing her to yelp. "If you hadn't noticed, Carl is too busy making sure he doesn't drop to the soap to come to your aid. Who's going to help you now?"

"I am!" I said once I was within ear shot. The two of them looked at me. Anya then yanked herself away from Flash before running to my side.

"Who are you?" Flash said.

"I'm her older brother," I said as I took a step forward. I may like to avoid conflict, but my threshold had its limits. Somebody putting my hands on my sister didn't fall within them. Flash looked back at Anya and then back at me, eyebrow raised. I knew what was going through his head.

"Are you serious?" he said. "Look, if you want to play Captain Save-A-Ho, don't come up with a pretense. What is she, adopted?"

"Matter of fact she is," I said. "And as much as I'd hate to cut this conversation short, I got places to be." With that said, I turned away. I took Anya's left hand with my right before walking away from Flash, gently pulling her away before the scene became bigger than it already was. But, like I said, Flash was a bully, and I didn't have the threat of Carl or any reputation of my own to deter him. So he was right behind us every step, running his mouth.

"Your stepsister, huh? Not even blood related? Must be nice, having access to that every single time you go home."

I stopped in my tracks, blank expression on my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Anya look at me. She walked in front of me and faced me.

"Ceph'…" she said. The look on her face said it all. She was trying to tell me to just walk away. And for a moment there, I was going to. But Flash, being Flash, decided to add this little gem.

"Way to keep it in the family!"

You know what else didn't fall within those limits? Someone implying that Anya and I like to partake in incest.

I immediately turned around before knocking Flash to the ground with a right hook to his jaw. As the crowd gathered around, I jumped on him before wailing on him repeatedly until two of Flash's friends jumped in. I was pulled off of Flash before I was curled in a ball on the ground, trying to protect myself as I was getting kicked. This continued until security showed up.

Right after, I was being escorted to the principal's office along with Flash and the rest of his crew, and being handed an ice pack as I told my side of the story. All this culminated in a five day suspension and a long car ride home, with my dad being the driver.

When we got home, we were in the dining room of our home, sitting at the table with my uncle sitting across from me. I didn't make eye contact with him. Instead I used my only good eye (my right) to look down at the table and study the wood patterns. I knew for a fact that my Uncle was staring a hole at me, trying to figure out what to say. I was wishing that he just talk already because the silence was getting to me. After several more seconds, I finally got my wish.

"You know, normally you'd be facing the belt," he began. He then scoffed. "But for the sake of avoiding redundancy, I'll forgo your behind whooping."

"This isn't funny," I replied.

"You're right. This isn't funny. As a matter of – Look at me boy!" I took in a deep breath raised my head slightly and made eye contact. His angry face softened up a bit. I had to a hold back a scoff of my own as I wondered how messed up my face was. "What's wrong with you, Ceph'? Fighting at school? Did I not raise you better than that? What was going through your mind?" I remained quiet, not wanting to take the risk of answering a rhetorical question and agitating him even more. "What happened?" I remained silent until it became apparent that he was waiting for an answer.

"I left class because… because this girl was talking crap about Jessica, saying that she was Carl's crack whore and stuff. I wanted to avoid getting into a conflict with her." I noticed the twitch on my uncle's lip. The irony wasn't lost on him. "So, I was walking about when I heard Anya screaming out. By the time I found her, she was being grabbed by the elbow by Flash."

"And that's when you decided to start throwing hands?" Uncle Ben asked. I shook my head.

"Nah. I pulled Anya away so we could just get away from him, but Flash kept on following us and implied…" I paused for a moment as I thought of a way to word this. I then sighed. "He implied that Anya and I interacted in ways that a brother and sister shouldn't be interacting."

Uncle Ben kept his eyes on me, as if he was waiting for me to say I was just kidding. He then blinked once, and I could see the gears turning in his head.

"That always have been a button of yours, Ceph'," he finally said. He then shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I understand why it would set you off, but you can't be punching out everyone who says that. If I punched out somebody every time they said something I didn't like, I wouldn't have a job." He then sighed. "You're better than this. You're lucky this is a first time offense, 'cause ten days would have you repeating your junior year. And not only that, imagine the example you're setting for Anya. She gets into enough trouble as is. As such, you're grounded for a month. And you can forget about Homecoming. Is that understood?"

_I wasn't going anymore, anyway._ That's what I wanted to say. I simply nodded instead. I was already grounded for a month, and my eye was practically swollen shut. Why make things worse?

"Good," Uncle Ben said. "Now grab an icepack out of the freezer. Hate to have your aunt look at you with that eye swollen shut."

The rest of the night went by rather quickly. I remained up in my room, resting my eye on an ice pack as I lay on my bed, on my stomach. I didn't even come down for dinner. I just wasn't hungry. As the hours went by, I heard everything that happened outside my room, from my uncle explaining my suspension to my aunt, to Anya arguing with my uncle on my behalf, and failing. Before I knew it, it was one hour before midnight. After stripping down to my boxers and undershirt and leaving the icepack on the night stand, I was under the sheets, on my back, trying my best to go to sleep. I just wanted to forget the day and try to make the best out of a bad situation. Five days from school, seven days without worrying about Flash.

Problem was, I couldn't sleep for anything. While the swelling receded enough for me to open it, my face still hurt. I glanced over at my alarm clock, and 1:00 shined back at me in red lights. It was then when I heard the window slide up. I immediately sat up and looked towards it, only to see Gwen crawling through. She landed lightly on her feet, barely making a sound before her gaze landed on me. She was dressed in a grey sweatshirt with matching sweatpants and black socks and flip-flops. The look on her face was ambiguous, yet it still had me feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. Was she angry with me? Was she disappointed, or even ashamed? Was it a mix of all three? Those were the questions that were popping in my head. Her very presence was enough for the guilt to build up in my chest.

She kept her gaze on me, unnerving me more and more as seconds passed. Not being able to take it anymore, I opened my mouth to say something. Before I could say anything, she brought her index finger against her lips, silently shushing me. She turned and closed the window behind her slowly, making sure not to make too much noise. She turned around before walking towards me. I took this time to turn my body, making my feet hit the floor with. She stopped right in front of me. She brought her hand up before placing it softly against the left side of my face. I winced slightly at the touch, which brought a scowl on Gwen's face.

"What happened?" she asked quietly. I frowned.

"I got into it with Flash," I whispered. "I was beating is face in until his boys jumped in." The scowl on her face became more pronounced. She definitely wasn't thrilled. I already knew the next question she was going to ask, so I decided to just go ahead and answer. "He implied out loud that Anya and I fool around whenever we're at home." At that, the scowl softened, but only slightly.

"You still should have walked away," Gwen said. "How long you're grounded for?"

"A month." I sighed. "It's seven days away from Flash, but now that I think about it, next Thursday's going to suck. Especially since I got to worry about what Flash might try to do with Anya."

"Don't worry about that," she said. "I'll make sure to keep her at my side whenever I can." Her scowl completely disappeared, but that frown remained on her face. "I'm worried about you right now. Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't think anything's broken," I replied. "Well, except for my pride, anyway." This got a scoff out of Gwen as she shook her head.

"Well, that's usually the first to go whenever you get your butt handed to you." As she said this, she slid her finger underneath by chin. She then leaned forward and planted a cheek on my left eye. My breath hitched slightly, and, somehow, my eye didn't hurt that much anymore. She then placed her forehead against mine. "Please don't do that again. It's already hard enough as it is with Carl gone. I'm not going to like you not being around for the next seven days. Especially since I have to cheer Jessica up by myself. The way things are now, it's a two-person job."

"You got Harry," I said.

"Yeah… but he doesn't have our chemistry."

I paused for a moment before I smirked. I felt my cheeks heat up a bit. I then sighed as my smile faded slightly. "Well, maybe our chemistry can help me sleep. This eye got me unable to sleep."

"Don't worry," Gwen said. "I'll have that handled." I smiled at her as I returned to my previous position on the bed. I made room for Gwen to climb in. Before she did, she grabbed the bottom of her sweater before taking it off, revealing a black t-shirt. She dropped it on the floor before she joined me in bed, leaving her flip-flops. "Let me be the one to hold you, tonight." I nodded as I turned my body and rested the right side of my face on her shoulder. She wrapped her arm around me. "Try not to get your face bashed in while you're stuck at home." I scoffed before shook my head. Then there was silence. After about ten minutes, I felt myself drift to sleep.

I slept like a baby that night. It was probably the best night of sleep I ever had at that point. But, of course, it didn't last.

As soon as I woke up, Gwen was, as per usual. I was met with the sight of Uncle Ben standing at my bedside. I didn't even bother saying anything as I sat up and looked up at him. He looked down at me with a slight frown.

"Well, I'm glad you have your eye back," he said. He then pushed a piece of paper in front of my face. I didn't ask what it was. Between Anya and I, there was enough groundings in this house to know that was list of chores. "You already know the drill."

That's pretty much the nature of my grounding. No television, no video games, no reading materials, no hanging out or talking with friends by any means, which leads to no internet. Beyond that, I'm responsible for any chore that was on the list given to me in the morning. So, over the next couple of days, I was cleaning gutters, bathrooms, rooms, dishes, kitchens, and other stuff. And when I wasn't cleaning, I was on by back, looking up at the popcorn ceiling, counting each kernel in a futile attempt pass the time. By the time I went to sleep Friday night, I was silently wishing I just walked away that afternoon.

Fortunately, Anya was able to get me a parole of sorts.

On Saturday morning, I was looking up at the ceiling, counting the kernels again when I heard Anya and my Uncle Ben talking from down the hall.

"Can't you get your mother to go with you?" Uncle said. I couldn't help but find it funny that though I considered Anya my little sister, I referred to my Uncle and Aunt as, well, my Uncle and Aunt while Anya referred to them as Mom and Dad.

"She's going to leave in about five minutes," she said. "She's going to meet Ms. Watson up in Deerfield."

"And why can't you take the pictures yourself?"

"Well, for one, Cephas is our best photographer. And second of all… I suck at taking pictures. Look, Dad, I know he's on punishment, but I need him for this assignment. And I know you have to work today. Let him come with me. Please?"

At this, I sat up from my bed. I heard nothing for a bit. Then I heard footsteps come towards my room. The door opened, and my Uncle stepped through.

"Good morning, Cephas," he greeted.

"Good morning, Uncle," I said. I turned my body, letting my feet hit the carpeted floor before I stood up. I stretched my arms outward as I leaned my backward, groaning as I did so. I straightened myself before looking over at my Uncle again. "What's on the agenda?"

"Today's your lucky day." He brought his hand out towards me. Instead of a list, he gave me fifty dollar bill with a few dollar bills. I looked at it before taking the money in my hand. "It turns out that they are having a special exhibit at the Museum of Discovery and Science. You remember how to get there?" I nodded slowly. "Good. Bring your camera. She needs pictures for her an extra credit assignment that'll make up a good chunk of the assignments she missed when she got suspended, provided she does a good job with it. I want you go with her, take pictures, get them developed and get back here at 5:30."

"Fifteen minute grace?" I asked. He narrowed his eyes at me. "What? You know how the BCT can be at times.

"…Fine. Also, I want to see those pictures when you get home."

"No trust?"

"It's not you I don't trust." My uncle then stepped forward before closing the door behind him. He then began to whisper. "Look, Ceph', Anya hasn't exactly been happy about your punishment, and I just want to make sure this isn't just some attempt to get you some relief from it." He frowned. "Look, I'm glad you're sticking up for your sister and everything. Just… be smarter about it next time. Remember what I told you, Ceph. With great power…"

"…comes great responsibility."

"Exactly," he said. "Now get ready."

About twenty minutes later, we were on the bus heading east. The bus was relatively empty, allowing us to have a section for ourselves. I looked outside of the window as Anya leaned against me. I looked down at my feet, making sure that my backpack was still there. I then looked over at Anya.

"So what's this exhibit about?" I asked.

"It's dealing with genetic engineering, showing off species they created."

"'They'?"

"Yeah, this science firm, headed up by this guy…" Anya's eyebrows furrowed up as she tried to recollect his name. "Connors, I think it is."

"Curt Connors," I said. "He's an interesting guy. He used to be a combat surgeon until he got his arm blown off in a mine blast. Ever since then, he's been researching a way to harness reptilian and amphibian DNA for the sake of using it to regenerate limbs."

"How do you know all this?"

"I read up on him in my science class freshman year." I looked out of the window, making sure that we didn't miss our stop. "In one newspaper article, a writer asked if Curt was just obsessed with getting his arm back." I frowned slightly.

"Is he?" Anya asked.

"I don't know… but who cares?" I said as I shrugged slightly. "If he is obsessed, then he's obsessed with something that can change the world for the better. You see, reptiles and amphibians can regenerate entire limbs, and sometimes even organs. Imagine if he could harness that for use on humans? People could walk again, transplants won't be needed as much. Heck, we could be looking at a cure for muscle dystrophy and the like. His obsession could help people big time, you know?"

"Yeah…"

"'Sides, he could of have been doing something worse. After such an experience he had, he could have become bitter, or worse." I paused as I looked back Anya. "I wonder if I could be like him if something that bad happened to me."

Oh Old Cephas, how I despise thee.


	3. Chapter 3

"Is it okay for me to take pictures?"

We finally arrived at The Museum of Discovery and Science. After a rather lengthy speech from Dr. Connors himself, we were allowed to take some pictures of the animals they had displayed. There was one section of the exhibit that Anya was particularly interested in: The 9 Spiders. So, with the camera in hand, we made our way over to that section.

"Sure thing," the lab assistant said. "Just make sure you have the flash off."

"Noted," I said as I began to adjust the settings on the camera. Anya eyed the spiders as they milled about in their display cases. While a few of them were colored in hues you'd expect on a spider, quite a few of them were so exotically colored it almost made me wonder if they were painted. One was green and yellow, another one was colored, I kid you not, red, white, and blue. And then there was one in bright blue and red.

"So what makes these spiders so special?" Anya asked.

"These spiders are hybrids," the assistant explained. "They are the results of a project we were doing. See, we're trying to create a spider that makes the strongest of web that lasts long enough to be used in short-term, heavy duty tasks, such as towing a 747 or patching a hole in a boat until it could tugged to shore safely. We made nine attempts, and were successful on the last one. After that, we made them a focus of a different object. You see, because their DNA is spliced together from different species, these spiders have different abilities, such as the abilities to jump extremely far, lift many times their own weight… even sense impending danger, amongst other things. And once again, Specimen 9 won that lottery, getting all of them. Hopefully by studying him…" She gestured towards an empty cell before looking at it. Her eyes narrowed. "…we can figure out how to push our main objectives farther along. Please excuse me. I have to check to see where Specimen 9 went."

Now, this following part had to be filled in for me by Anya in my bedroom the morning after because my memory was hazy. According to her, the spider was found… sinking its fangs into the skin between my thumb and index finger. After the fact, that same assistant drove us to the hospital, where I was checked out. After a few tests, I was released to my folks, who took Anya and I home. Despite running a fever and running into stuff at home, I insisted that I was okay. My uncle wasn't having any of it. He ordered me to pop an Advil and go to bed. I did so, because, honestly, that wasn't a battle worth fighting.

The only thing I remembered clearly was the spider itself. The black spider with blue streaks across its body as if Jackson Pollock was given an airbrush gun filled with nothing but Midnight Blue paint and a pure black canvas. And what made it worse was the fact that its blue eyes looked as if they were focused on me. As a matter of fact, I felt its gaze. So, after all that was explained to me, I had to ask.

"Did I go in my pants?"

Anya looked at me with a "Really?" expression before shaking her head.

"You could have died, and you're asking if you went in your pants?" she asked incredulously. "You know what? I'm not telling." I rolled my eyes. I stood up from my bed and walked over to my dresser. I removed my shirt, which was soaked with sweat, and tossed it into a corner of the room. I opened the drawer and plucked out a new shirt. I turned right back around, slinging the shirt over my shoulder. I was about to move to the bathroom before I caught Anya staring at me. Her mouth was ajar and her eyes were wide.

"What, did I grow four more arms or something?" I deadpanned.

"No, but your abdomen was replaced by a washboard." I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering what she was talking about. I walked out, leaving her in the room, and walked across the hall to the bathroom. Once I entered, I flipped the lights and looked at myself in the mirror. And that's when my face was looking like Anya's.

While I wasn't exactly an inactive kid, I wasn't a regular exerciser. So, I knew I shouldn't be having six-pack. I knew I my chest shouldn't be looking like they could stop bullets. And I knew that my arm muscles shouldn't look like they were going to burst through my skin if I flexed. While I wasn't exactly looking like Ultimate Warrior, I couldn't but think that I could pull off a Bruce Lee costume for Halloween this year.

"Holy crap…"

"My thoughts exactly." I jumped as I turned to the direction of the door. Anya was still looking at me as if I was a different person. I wasn't so sure I wasn't. "You're not taking steroids, are you?"

"Oh yeah, all the time," I replied. "I shoot up so many times you can play connect-a-dot on my right butt cheek. Can you imagine that?"

"I can no longer NOT imagine that," Anya groaned as she rubbed the bridged of her nose. "I'm serious. Yesterday, you were skinny as usual. Now you're looking like you can star in a martial arts movie."

"Trust me, I'm as surprised as you – "

That's when it hit me. I felt this sudden surge of adrenaline, and everything around me slowed down. I quickly looked around, noticing everything around me, from the water dripping from the shower head to the particles of dust that was in the air. My eyes finally landed on the mosquito that was buzzing towards Anya's cheek. In a nearly automatic motion, I snatched it out of the air with my hands and brought it towards my face. I regarded it for a few moments before looking back at Anya. Her eyes were locked on me, and her tongue was pressed against the inside of her cheek. She sighed.

"Are you okay Cephas?"

I nodded as I turned towards the sink. "I'm okay. At least, I feel okay." I turned one of the knobs next to faucet. I rinsed my hands underneath the running water. "I'm not in pain or anything… though I guess I feel different. Not bad… just different."

"Think it has something to do with the spider bite?"

"Maybe." I turned off the faucet and looked back at my younger sister. The look of worry on her face made me frown. "Don't give me that look. It's not like I'm dying or anything. Even the doctors said that." She blinked. I sighed. "What do I have to do for you to not worry?" She pressed her lips together for a moment.

"Just… just take it easy, will you?"

"It's Sunday. Other than a trip to church and some chores, I don't have to do much."

And that was pretty much what I did all day. Except… my new found hyperawareness made things a bit difficult. Though, it did come in handy when I almost broke the vase. So, not only was I hyperaware, my reflexes were better than ever. Was it because of that spider? That was the question of the day. I was thinking about it so much that I wasn't really getting that much sleep over the next few days. By the eve of my suspension's end, I was telling myself that everything was okay, that I was just getting over the venom that was in my system.

Of course, my life is rarely that simple.

Once I was back from suspension, I still had to deal with the talk about Carl. I tried my best to ignore it, but it was hard to do so with Jessica still in the dumps. Things got worse when our circle did get together, because that was when Carl's absence was even more apparent. Plus, I was doing my best to avoid Flash all week. Unfortunately, one day, I made the mistake of taking a trip through No Man's Land.

You see, No Man's Land was this part of the school between the football stadium, the gym, and the swimming pools. For some reason or another, there was no regular security sweeps there, and no video surveillance. Needless to say, this was the number one place to go to make out with someone, smoke a cigarette or joint, or have a fight.

Guess what was going to happen?

So I walked through, passing by quite a few people along the way. I wasn't really paying attention to anyone. If I did, I would have made that u-turn and take another route for my walk. Unfortunately, I was too deep in my thoughts as I tried to make my way through. That's when the feeling hit again. I stopped in my tracks and looked all around me. After a couple of turns of my head, I spot the incoming object: a football zeroing in on face. It couldn't have been more than a foot in front of me. Had this happened last week, I probably would have been on the floor. This was after the spider bite. My hands rose up, and I quickly caught the ball one inch away from my face. I then lowered the ball and glared at the ball's apparent direction. Of course, in that direction was Flash and his group, laughing at me.

"Nice catch, Cephas!" he yelled out. "Why don't you toss that ball right back?"

That's when I discovered another apparent side effect of the spider bite: increase in intestinal fortitude.

Instead of tossing it back, I turned around threw it up in the air and towards another direction. I watched it until it fell on the roof of the gym with a satisfying thud. I turned towards Flash before shrugging.

"I guess I don't know how to hit my intended receiver," I said with a smile. Flash was not the least bit pleased. That's when everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me. That's when Flash started to approach me.

"Should I beat your face in again, Cephas?"

"What, you're going to have your boyfriends jump in again?" I said mockingly. Everyone onlooker let out a collective "OOOOH!", much to Flash's chagrin.

"I don't need my boys to handle you, Cephas. This won't even last a minute." I chuckled at that statement.

"Funny, your girlfriend said you told her the same thing!"_Cephas, what are you doing?_

Flash's eyes went wide. He looked around the crowd, who was laughing out loud at his expense. This was all the motivation he needed to quicken his step. I didn't even bother trying to sidestep him. No, much to everyone's surprise, even my own, I quickly jumped up in the air and tucked my knees to my chest. Flash only had time to give me a look of surprise before I sent my two feet into his chest. I flipped backward and landed on my feet like a gymnast… which was weird, because I wasn't able to do a back flip if I used my bed as a trampoline.

I looked down at myself, my eyebrows raised. Did the spider bite do all this, too? I looked back at Flash, who was ten feet away from his previous spot, sitting up and holding his chest as he looked at me. Once again, I had a pair of eyes on me as if I was a different person. And those eyes were joined by many other pairs of eyes. It wasn't a good feeling, experiencing that. It made me feel as if I wasn't human.

I didn't have too much time to dwell on it, however. The same two guys who helped Flash kick my face in the first time around was rushing at me. One of them was faster than the other. It only took him a few seconds to come within striking distance. To me, however, it seemed like minutes. When he threw his punch, I turned my body to the side and dodged it with as much effort as it took for me to cock the eyebrow at him the moment after. He kept on throwing punches, only to get the same results.

"Stand still so I can hit you," he said in frustration.

"Uh…no," I replied, dodging another punch. I was growing tired of it all. So I decided to end it with a quick punch to his stomach. He screamed out before dropping to his knees. I looked down at him, then back at the other guy, who was on my left. I eyed him and cocked an eyebrow. He seemed a little hesitant, as if he was debating on whether or not to try his luck. "Do you really want to roll that dice?" He glanced at his friend again. He looked back at me and shook his head. In response, I walked away, leaving the guys behind.

The rest of the school day, I was wondering how what I did was even possible. Like I said before, I wasn't exactly an unfit kid, but I am extremely aware of what I could and could not do. And that flip and me throwing the ball as far as I did was not physically possible for me.

As soon as I got home, I tried to put what happened that day behind me. Unfortunately, that would prove to be impossible. Word always travels fast around school. Had it just happen in front of Flash's crew, maybe it would have stayed on the hush, but since there were other people there, it spread throughout the school.

So, I wasn't _too_ surprised when I woke up in the middle of the night to Gwen looking down at me with the meanest glare.

"Crap," I choked out. I knew I was in trouble. So, begrudgingly, I sat up and turned my body around until my feet hit the floor. Gwen took a step back to give me room, but the glare didn't change. She didn't even have to say anything. I knew she wanted me to explain myself. And explain myself I did. Even after the explanation, her glare still remained on me. She then sighed.

"I'm not going to act like there's not a small part of me that enjoys that story," she said. For a moment, I thought I was going to get out of this unscathed. That thought went out the window when she socked me in my left shoulder. I grimaced and held back a grunt of pain. As I rubbed my shoulder, Gwen continued. "But what you did was wrong. Didn't I tell you to stay away from Flash?"

"I tried to stay away from Flash." I shrugged my shoulder around a few times, trying to relieve the pain. "I was minding my own business. Plus, you know how Flash is. Even if I tried to walk away, he'd probably just tail me with his friends." Gwen rolled her eyes, but she let out a defeated sigh.

"I guess you're right." She then looked straight at me. "So it's true. You literally did all that in your fight against Flash?" I nodded. She tilted her head at me. "How can that be? No offense, Peter, but you're not exactly the most fit person."

"Anya didn't tell you?" I stood up and looked Gwen in the eye. "I've been sort of different since this past weekend. I have spurts of hyperawareness and I'm doing stuff I wasn't able to do prior."

"Anya did mention a spider bite," Gwen said. Her eyes then dropped from mine and towards my chest. I started to feel nervous. I was getting the feeling that the spider bite wasn't the only thing Anya mentioned. "Let me see."

"See what?" I asked, playing dumb. Gwen gave me a slight glare. She saw right through it.

"Pete, please don't play stupid with me." At that point, I knew there wasn't any way to get out of it. I looked down at my shirt. I reached down and grabbed the bottom of it. But that was all I did for a few moments. I was getting warm in the face. Gwen must have noticed, because she spoke again.

"What's wrong? It's just me."

_Yeah, _I thought. _Just you, the girl I have been crushing on for the longest._

"I'll be honest with you, Gwen, I'm a little embarrassed," I admitted. "I never took my shirt off around you before." Gwen chuckled.

"What, afraid I won't like what I see?" I looked up at her, and she smiled at me. "Would it make you feel better if I remove my shirt?" My mouth was ajar. I felt the blood drain from my face and redirect towards a certain area. I couldn't even answer. Gwen winked at me before she grabbed the bottom of her shirt. So many questions popped into my head. Was she joking? Was she serious? Was this really going to happen? All those questions were answered when she pulled the shirt off of her, leaving her upper body naked with exception of her white bra. My breath hitched as I took in the sight of her, from her toned stomach to the curve of her waist. Inside of my head, I was yelling out "Yes!" over and over again like I was cheering on Daniel Bryan. I looked up at her face. While she put on a confident smile, the pink, almost red blush on her face showed that her exposing herself to me wasn't exactly the easiest thing for her to do. I took some more time to ogle at her before I looked back down at my shirt. I reached down and grabbed the bottom of it again. This time, I didn't hesitate. I removed my shirt and tossed it towards my bed. Gwen eyed my body again, and this time she was almost as red as a tomato. She then let out a breath before looking me in my eyes.

"Yeah, I was surprised as you are," I said with a whisper. I swallowed before speaking again. "You look great, by the way."

"You don't look to shabby either," Gwen said. She then walked up to me and placed her hands on shoulder. Her face returned to normal for the most part, but still had a slight pinkness to her skin. She looked up at me. "Pete, you're not taking anything illegal, are you?"

"For goodness sake," I blurted out as I rolled my eyes. "No I'm not taking anything illegal. I'm not even taking anything _legal._ I just woke up the day after the spider bite like this."

"And you don't feel sick or anything?" I shook my head. At this, her hands moved from my shoulder and onto my cheeks. "Cephas…" I gave her my full attention. She almost never calls me by my real first name. When she does, I knew what she was going to say next was going to be serious. "Promise you'll keep an eye on yourself and head back to the doctor if anything feels wrong. And promise me you won't become some person who goes around fighting everybody."

"I promise you, Gwen."

"You better." She then pulled me into a hug, placing the left side of her face on my chest. I wrapped my arms around and squeezed her tightly. Her skin against skin was enough to get my blood running again. "I like you the way you are, Cephas. I don't want you to become some schoolyard bully, and I don't want you dead."

"As long as you're around, Gwen, you won't have to worry about either." I squeezed her a little tighter for emphasis before relaxing my embrace. For a while, we remained like this. We could have stayed like that forever if it wasn't for me trying to stifle a yawn to no avail. Gwen pulled away and looked at me.

"You need to go to bed," she said.

"Will you stay?" I asked. Well, more like pleaded. Gwen smiled at me.

"You know I will."

The next day, I was back at school. And by the time lunch rolled around, I wished I'd I faked being sick. It seemed like everywhere I went, I saw people whispering amongst themselves about me and what I did to Flash. It had gotten so bad that when some freshman accidently ran into me, causing him to drop his tray, he was practically begging me not to beat him up. It took me a good five minutes convince him that I wasn't going to do anything to him. I even gave him my lunch, except for the apple.

I didn't want this. I preferred to stay under the radar. Now my name was known throughout school...

"…and I hate it," I said to Harry. Both of us were sitting in front of the school, away from everyone else.

"Look on the bright side," Harry said after he took a sip from his milk. "Someone needed to knock Flash down a peg. I'm pretty sure every person that Flash bullied is happy for it."

"Yeah, but I don't think Flash is going to leave me alone anytime soon." I eyed one of the cars as it passed by. I didn't want to talk about the whole Flash thing anymore, so I changed the subject. "So you said you have a plan regarding Carl?"

"Yeah." Henry tilted the carton of milk as he downed the rest of its content. He then laid the carton on the tray, along with the empty cups and sauce stains. "And it involves you."

"Oh crap…" I rolled my eyes before looking over at Harry. Something told me this was going to be a treat.

"Hear me out now." He unzipped his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of gray paper. He unfolded it and handed it towards me. I took it and looked it over, realizing that it was an ad from a newspaper. I looked it over, reading it aloud.

"'Bonesaw Challenge: Last three minutes, take home 20,000 Dollars. Beat Bonesaw, take home 40,000 dollars." I lifted my head up. "What, the _heck,_ is The Bonesaw Challenge?"

"Bonesaw is a professional wrestler who apparently had a career going through the NWA. As of lately, his promoter has been putting out this challenge, and no one has been able to beat this challenge yet."

"And how big is this Bonesaw guy?"

"Uh… six feet, six inches, and 300 pounds, give or take. And… from what I saw, he seemed to spend a lot of time in the gym."

"…" I pressed my tongue against my cheek as I took time to connect the dots. "So, let me get this straight. You want me, a sixteen year old kid who stands at six feet and weighs a buck seventy on a good day, to step in the ring with a professional wrestler that probably drinks protein shakes out of bottles bigger than I after he works out. Am I hearing this right?"

"Well… that's one way of putting it…"

"Harry… I… Okay, let's ignore the fact that I'm grounded." I handed him back the ad before I continued. "This guy could kill me. What makes you think this would be a good idea?"

"Cephas, you were never a slow guy to begin with," Harry replied. "And now, according to what I heard around school, you're basically a gymnast. That 20 grand would bail out Carl. I'm not asking you to beat this guy. I'm asking you to just avoid this guy for three minutes." My gears were turning. It would have been nice to have Carl back. Plus, three minutes wasn't very long right?

"I'll think about it," I said. "But even if I say yes, how are we going to get a one day reprieve from my uncle? It was one thing for me to help out Anya with her project. It's another thing for me to become a wrestler."

"Let me handle that," Harry said with a slight smile. "Just take some time to consider it and hit me back by tomorrow. You say yes, and then I'll try to convince your uncle. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough."

After school, Harry dropped me off home. As he sped away, I turned towards my house and walked to the door. As I walked, I caught a glimpse of my football, which was left on the lawn. I remembered how far I threw that football yesterday. I then looked over at my aunt's minivan. For some reason, I started to wonder how strong I became. So I walked over to the back of the van and stood there. I looked left and right to see if anyone was looking. From what I could see, there wasn't a person in sight. I then bent over and placed my hands underneath the bumper. I didn't expect to do much. So, I was quite surprised that I lifted the back of the van about four feet off of the ground. As I held it there, my eyes widened. I then huffed out a breath as I slowly lowered it to the ground.

"Two tons," I said to myself. That was how much the van (a Caravan) weighed. Inside of my head, I was checking off a list. And it seems like I have spurts of hyperawareness that seems to kick in at convenient times, ninja-like agility, and, apparently, super strength. With that in mind, I made my way to the front door. After opening and locking the door behind me, I made my way towards the nearest phone, which was in the kitchen, and picked up the receiver. I dialed Harry's number and waited for him to pick up, which he eventually did.

"Hey Harry… Yeah, everything's okay… Look, I thought about your proposal… I'll do it."


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday rolled around. It was the day of The Bonesaw Challenge event. Harry was going to come over and try to convince my uncle to let me off the hook. The more I thought about it, the more stupid it seemed. While Harry did have a way with words, he was still just a kid, like me. So as I lay on my bed, looking up at the ceiling of my bedroom, I was thinking of ways to try to avert the possible crisis that was going to happen later in the afternoon.

Fortunately for me, my uncle was able to handle that situation unwittingly.

"Cephas," I heard my uncle say. I sat up and looked over my shoulder, seeing my dad open the door. I turned my body and placed my feet on the floor before standing up.

"Good morning, Uncle," I said.

"Slept well, Cehpas?" he asked. I nodded as he stepped up to me.

"What's up, Uncle?" He usually didn't come to my room in the morning unless there was something important he needed to talk to me about. While I was talking calmly, I was worried underneath. Did Harry make his presence known this morning? Did Gwen leave evidence of her being here the night before? The possibilities were running through my head and my heart rate increased.

"Well, Ceph'," he began. "I was talking with your aunt this morning. It's about your punishment."

"Oh boy…" I muttered out. He placed his hands on my shoulders and gave me a subtle shake as he smiled.

"Relax," he said. "I don't normally do this, but considering you don't exactly make it a habit of causing trouble at school… we decided to end your punishment today." My eyes widened a bit.

"Are… you serious?"

"As a heart attack, Ceph." His smile then faded slightly as he leaned forward. "Let this be understood. This isn't gonna happen all the time. I expect you to be on your best behavior and not get suspended for the rest of your high school days. Alright?"

"Definitely, uncle," I said, nodding vigorously. I then tilted my head. "Thanks, uncle. Is there anything else you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, about Gwen…"

"Oh boy." I groaned.

"I just have a few questions. Just meet me downstairs in a few minutes. We'll talk over orange juice."

So, after a quick wash of the face, I was sitting at the dining room table with my dad, dressed in a black t-shirt and blue gym shorts.

"So," my uncle began as he poured the orange juice in my glass from its carton. "What is going on between you two?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"We're just friends," I said. "I guess…" I added that part noncommittally.

"Uh huh." He leaned backward in his seat, cup in hand. "It seems like you have taken quite a liking to her, if the scent of perfume I smell on you almost every day is any indication." I remained quiet, not knowing what to say at first. I wanted to deny it at first, but it was obvious that everybody who was close enough to me knows how I feel about her.

"I do," I admitted with a slow nod.

"So what are going to do about it?"

At that, I picked up my glass of orange juice. "I don't know. I had a plan, but that kinda got dashed." I took a sip of the sweet and somewhat sour liquid.

"Were you going to do something at Homecoming?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I couldn't go." I set the glass on the table. He opened his mouth. I already knew what he was going to say. He was going to apologize for grounding me but pointing out that I brought it on myself. As true as it was… "It wasn't because of the grounding. None of us was going anymore, anyway."

"Carl?" he asked. I nodded.

"We just didn't feel right about it, going without Carl. And even if we did, it wasn't going to be a good night for us." I looked off to the side in thought. "You know how high school students are. We'd be hearing nothing but whispers about what happened to him all night. Plus we'd have to worry about guys… and some girls… making passes at Jessica." I looked back at my uncle. "Even if I did go, that wouldn't have been the right time."

"So what are you going to do now?" he asked. I opened my mouth to say something. Nothing came out. I sighed.

"I don't know." At this, my uncle leaned forward.

"Did I ever tell you about what happened to me about a couple of years back with the lottery situation?" I shook my head. He chuckled a bit, as if to tell me that this story was going to be a good one. "I had these numbers I was going to play. Normally I would do so in the morning. But I was feeling lazy, and I was off from work, so I decided to do it around noon." He scoffed. "Problem was, around 11:30, things started to get very busy. Your mom's van broke down, you had to be picked up from school because you were sick from… from…"

"Pneumonia," I said. I would never forget that day. I had no appetite, I was sluggish, I had a high fever, and my lower right lung felt like it was going to explode. Uncle nodded.

"Pneumonia," he repeated. "And not only that, Anya got suspended… again." He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "And just when I thought I had everything resolved, we still had the PTA meeting to go to. By the time everything was wrapped up, it was too late to play the numbers." He shook his head. "Thirty-seven million dollars..." My eyebrows rose in surprise. Then, at random, I got an image of Uncle being surrounded by stacks of money, hookers, and blow. Before I could laugh at it, my uncle continued. "Point is, Ceph', you keep waiting around with Gwen, you're going to miss your opportunity. Talk to her. Do something. Got it?"

"Got it, Uncle."

I was dwelling on those words for a while. The only time I wasn't thinking about it was when I gave Harry a call. Fact of the matter was my uncle was right. I was trying my best to find out what was holding me back. I finally came to the conclusion that I was scared of what would happen if I ask her out and she says no, that we wouldn't be friends. I told Harry as such when we were on our way to the convention center.

"I don't get you Cephas," Harry said with a shake of his head. "I just don't get you."

I stopped gazing out the window of the passenger side of Harry's car before looking over at him. "What?"

"Don't 'What' me!" Harry slowed to stop in front of the red light. He looked over at me and gave me a look of incredulity. "You are the only person I know that can sleep in the same bed with a girl, while she is in her underwear, while you are cuddling with her, and still doubt whether or not she likes you like that." He turned his head back towards the street as she shook his head.

"What if she's just that trusting of me?" I countered. At this, Harry's grip on the steering wheel became slightly tighter.

"I just slapped you just now," he said in a near whisper. "Not literally, but in my head. I just slapped you so hard that that you forgot what week it was." He took in a deep breath before speaking again. "Look, Cephas, there are only two scenarios where a girl would allow that to happen without liking you like that. Either she's a relative that has an unhealthily high comfort level around you, or she's the type of girl who's used to crawling in bed in her underwear with random men. Now, I know she's not your relative, unless she got whatever is the opposite of the skin condition Michael Jackson had. Does she?"

"No," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"And if it was the latter, I don't think we'd be having this conversation. I never saw her in her underwear. And I'm pretty sure Carl hasn't either. Geez Louise, man, what does she have to do get the point across?" He shook his head again. "Seriously, dude. You need to handle that." The light turned green, and Harry pressed the accelerator. As he continued along the way to our destination, I thought about what Harry said. I tried to think of all the reasons why Harry would be wrong, but I couldn't really find any reason that would hold water. The reasons I did find were so much of a reach that Plastic Man would break in half trying to grab hold of them.

Harry was right. Anya was right. Uncle Ben was right.

With that realization in mind, I leaned to the right and fished out my phone out of my left pocket.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"I'm handling it."

I didn't bother flipping through the contacts of my phone. I knew Gwen's phone number by heart. After I hit the send button, I put the receiver to my ear. After four rings, Gwen finally picked up her phone.

"Hello?" she said. My eyes narrowed. She sounded a bit weak, her voice but a near whisper.

"Hey Gwen," I said. "You okay?"

"I'm not feeling good, Pete." I heard her moan. I knew she was sitting up and stretching her back. "I feel a bit weak. I… I think I'm just fighting off a cold." She paused for a moment. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's cool. I'm just with Harry, trying to explore a possibility of getting Carl sprung." I glanced at Harry. He hung a right off of Sunrise and onto US-1. As he went south, his eyes didn't even move from the road. The expression on his face said it all. I knew he'd kill me if I didn't man up. "Gwen um…" I turned my head out towards the road again. "Hey, I need to talk to you tomorrow."

"About what?"

"About… About s-something I should have gotten off my chest a long time ago." I said. I took in a deep breath. "Look, it's nothing bad, really. It… it should be something good, hopefully."

"Does it… involve us?"

"Yeah, it does." I smiled slightly. I then frowned. I had to dig deep for what I wanted to say next. "Gwen, remember where we first met?"

"How can I forget?" she said with a slight chuckle. "It was the Jamba Juice at Galleria Mall. Your aunt and my dad were speaking while we were off to the corner. I tried to get you to talk. And you did, albeit barely. You were so quiet and you got cross with Anya when she told me why. You had a Tahiti Green Tea while I got an Aloha Pineapple." I smiled from ear to ear at the memory.

"Let's meet there at around 3 o'clock. Would you like that?"

"Yeah I would." I could feel her smile.

"Awesome. I'll see you there. Until then, get your rest, drink fluids, load up on Vitamin C…"

"Yes mom," Gwen quipped. I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine, Peter. Just don't stand me up tomorrow."

"I won't," I said. "You have a good night, Gwen."

"You too, Pete. You, too."

I ended the call and slipped it back into my pocket. I looked over at Harry and cocked an eyebrow. "Happy now?"

"I won't be happy until you seal the deal," Harry said. He smiled slightly. "But for now, I'm placated."

Within a few minutes we were at the Convention Center. The Parking Garage was packed. On our way into the inside of the building, we passed by quite a few wrestlers. Some of them were dressed in the types of clothes you'd expect from gym-goers: sneakers, shorts, and t-shirts with different logos. I recognized some of the logos as those belonging to different wrestling leagues, such as World Wrestling Federation (I refuse to call it by its current name), Ring of Honor, and Dragon Gate USA. Other people were in colorful costumes. I had to hold myself back my laughter from looking at some of them.

This was a good thing, seeing as I didn't have room to talk.

"What the heck is this?!" I yelled out as I walked out of the bathroom I was changing in. From the waist down, the costume was okay. Black sneakers, socks, and shorts; nothing too out of the ordinary, right? But from the waist up, I had on a skin tight, long sleeved shirt made out of dazzle (the type of polyester used to make jerseys). It was mostly colored pink with a purple web pattern all over it. And over my head was a black ski mask that concealed everything except for my eyes.

"What, you don't like it?" Harry said with a snicker. I narrowed my eyes at him. He forced his face straight, even though the corners of his mouth were still slightly curved upwards. "Come on, it's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" I repeated incredulously. "First of all, this was hardly creative. Second of all, I look like the love child of Kirby and The Hamburglar!"

"You don't look like…. Okay, maybe you do." I rolled my eyes upward. Harry placed his hands on my shoulders and gave them a slight. "Look, this isn't a beauty contest. We're here to collect some cash for Carl's sake."

"I know that, but this?!" I tilted my head. "Is this payback for -?"

"Yes." Harry smiled evilly.

"But that was four years ago, man!"

"I know. That's what makes it sweeter." He tapped me on the side of my face lightly. "Now let's get going."

The line was long, and we were in the back of it. While we waited, all of the challengers were given forms. I looked over it as I filled out the form. _Name? …Cephas Parker. Wrestling name? …Arachnikid. Height? …Six feet. Weight? _I looked up at the ceiling and tried to think of the last time I weighed myself. With a brief tilt of my head, I resumed filling out the form. _160 pounds… _I kept on filling out the form until I reached the final part, which gave me pause.

"Waiver?" I muttered. I flagged down one of the passing staff members and asked him about it.

"You heard of the Mass Transit incident that happened at ECW?" he asked. I nodded. "Yeah, that's what we're trying to protect ourselves from. You'd be surprised how many high school kids try to step into the ring with Bonesaw. This waiver right helps us avoid litigation."

"I see. Thanks." He smiled and nodded before going on about his business. I turned my head back to Harry. I had a feeling that, even with the mask on, he knew I was glaring at him.

"Will you stop worrying already?" he said with a roll of his eyes. "All you have to do is dodge him. That shouldn't be hard for you to do."

The line eventually moved along, and I turned in my form. As we moved on from the hall to the waiting area, we all drew numbers out of a hat to see who goes when. I drew number 15.

"My lucky number," I said.

"Remind me, why is that again?"

"I found forty bucks in this library book when I turned to page fifteen a few years back." I looked aside in thought. "I think the book was called Amazing Fantasy or something like that." I looked around the waiting area, noticing that there were seats and a flat screen television set. I figured it was so everyone can keep their eyes on the action inside of the ring. I was proven right when a staff member came over and turned on the television set.

Eventually, things got underway. I finally got a look of Bonesaw as he made his entrance. Harry said he was six foot six and three hundred pounds, and he looked the bit. He was clad in a black tank top and leather pants that were tucked into knee high boots. He had a long brown hair that extended to his shoulders and a thick beard that extended from his jaw. What made it even worse was his piercing grey eyes that almost made him look like he was lacking an iris. He looked crazed, like he was the warrior a medieval army would keep shackled up, only releasing him in extreme emergencies. The announcer went through the usual spiel: Where he was from (Parts Unknown… of course), height and weight, and his name. He was apparently a popular one amongst wrestling fans. A lot of people in the crowd had signs bearing his name and fake saws, which they would use to saw across his their forearms in a rhythmic motion.

The announcer then took time remind the crowd of the stakes, that a wrestler gets twenty thousand dollars for lasting three minutes, forty thousand to beat him. Once that was said, he called for the first challenger. The first wrestler stood up, who was a black guy wearing black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black Rey Mysterio mask.

"I hate to break this to you, but all of you are wasting your time. I'm taking that cash home!" With that, he ran out, full of energy. I turned my head back to the monitor. After a few moments, this guy came out, full of energy, he was slapping hands with the fans as the announcer introduced him as Black Mask. He entered the ring quickly and started jawing off. Eventually the bell sounded, and the match begun. Now, at this time point, it should be pointed out that this guy is only slightly bigger than I am. I figured this man would use the strategy I had cooked up: dodge, duck, dip, dive… and dodge.

So it surprised me when this guy charged him out of the gate. What didn't surprise was this guy getting smashed hard in the face with a huge forearm and falling to the floor, knocked out. I turned my head towards Harry, who was looking down at his watch.

"Ten seconds," he mused with a nod. He looked over at me. "I'm not going to lie to you, he lasted a _little _bit longer than I expected."

I was hoping that that Black Mask's idiocy was the reason why the match ended as quickly as it did. However, the other matches didn't last too long either. I'm going to spare you the details and give you a concise list of what happened before it was my turn.

Wrestler Number 2: Mortem. Lasted 30 seconds before eating a Big Boot.

Wrestler Number 3: Ragdoll. Lasted 20 seconds before being tossed out of the ring like a ragdoll.

Wrestler Number 7: El Delincuente. 40 seconds, Armbar.

Wrestler Number 10: NFL Superpro. 10 Seconds, Spear.

Wrestler Number 12: Demolition Man. 17 Seconds, Bonecrusher (or Burning Hammer).

Wrestler Number 14: …You know, I didn't even get his name. He fainted before he even reached the stage.

You may have noticed that I didn't include the fate of some of the wrestlers before me. Well, that's because all of them left before their turns were up. By the time it was my turn, the room of practically thirty was nearly empty. One of the staff members stepped in.

"Number 15, you're up! Follow me."

I nodded as I stood up. I looked at Harry. "Are you coming with me?"

"Yeah," Harry said as he stood up. We walked to the staff member and followed him to the arena floor. We stopped at the gorilla position and waited for the announcer to… well, announce me.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS OUR LAST MATCH OF THE NIGHT! THIS GUY IS THE ONLY HOPE OF THAT MONEY BEING PAID OUT! THIS IS A LOCAL GUY, HAILING FROM LAUDERHILL, FLORIDA! STANDING AT SIX FEET AND WEIGHS IN AT A LEAN MEAN 160 POUNDS! HE IS THE EIGHT-LEGGED TERROR. THE VENOMOUS STRIKER! THE WEAVER OF THE WEB OF NIGHTMARES! AAAAAAAARACHNIKID!"

"Arachnikid?" Harry said with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Yeah, what of it?" I said before stepping out from behind the curtain. I brought my fists up in the air, posing to the crowd. The crowded responded with a chant of "DEAD MEAT!" I brought my hands down and scowled at the crowd. I shook my head and made my way down the ramp. I got all kinds of insults. One person called me a stick. Another person said that Bonesaw will break my spine in half. And one person even called me a few words that got me to stop and turn towards the person who said them. Maybe I would have looked more menacing if I didn't look like The Hamburglar coming home from a drunken night. I almost said a few words back, but Harry put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me along.

I finally reached the ring. I took in a deep breath before I jumped on to the apron and grabbed the top rope. I looked into the ring, at the man that was called Bonesaw. His promoter was saying something, but I could quite hear it. I was too focused on my opponent at hand. What I did pick up was the announcer dubbing this match as a battle between David and Goliath. I would have laughed had it not been for the fact that my stomach might as well have been a section of Butterfly World at the time. What people don't tell you about that analogy is that David was a shepherd who was used to taking on lions and bears. They also don't tell you that, back then, David using a slingshot against Goliath was like using a gun in a sword fight. I wasn't a shepherd that could take on lions and bears. I didn't have a slingshot, gun, or any of the like on me. I was just a kid that was planning to just dodge.

Well… things had a funny way of changing.

I jumped over the top rope and moved towards the middle of the ring. It was at this point the referee moved between me and Bonesaw, making sure that the action didn't start until the bell sounded. He went over what was on the line for me. With that done, he backed away and called for the bell. Once the bell sounded, I moved backward before circling the ring. I didn't circle for too long before Bonesaw spoke.

"Is your sister a good lay?" he said. I stopped in my tracks and narrowed my eyes.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"Is your sister a good lay? Because I'm going to give her the business tonight, and I figured you had firsthand experience."

There was a couple of seconds when I blacked out. Fortunately, Harry was able to fill in the details for me later.

After those words were said, he gave me a smug smile. That smile faded when I quickly ran forward. I leapt into the air. Before he could even react, my right fist went across his jaw so hard that blood from his mouth splashed across the canvas, along with a couple of his molars. The crowd went silent as I landed on my feet. When I finally snapped out of my blackout, my eyebrows rose in surprise. I looked from left and right at the crowd. Medical staff slid into the ring and attended to Bonesaw as he laid disturbingly still on the ground.

The silence from the crowd got to me. I hated it. It was like when I fought Flash and his boys. I felt like a freak again. I could see them, whispering amongst their selves, wondering how a guy could as small as I am do what he just did. I wanted to just leave, but then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Harry giving me a slight smile.

"We just bailed out Carl," Harry said. That's when it all came back to me. Carl was the reason I was doing this. I nodded before I made my way towards the ropes to exit the ring. The way I saw it, the quicker we get the money, the soon I could put this night behind me.


End file.
